BERLIN - The leader of Iraq's Kurds, Masoud Barzani, appealed to Germany for weapons to help Kurdish fighters battling militants of the Islamic State, and said foreign powers must find a way to cut off the group's funding.

The European Union on Friday gave a green light to EU governments to supply arms and ammunition to the Kurds if it has the consent of the government in Baghdad.

Barzani also said foreign governments had to find a way to choke off Islamic State's sources of funding. He estimated that the IS took in $3 million every day via compulsory levies and oil theft.